India’s chase didn’t begin ideally. Captain Rohit Sharma and opening batsman Shubman Gill managed only 31 runs in partnership. Shaheen Afridi provided Pakistan with the first breakthrough, clean bowling Rohit for 20 runs off 15 balls. Gill and Kohli then steadied the innings.
India suffered their second blow at 100 in the 18th over. Spinner Abrar Ahmed clean bowled Shubman Gill, who scored 46 runs off 52 balls, including seven fours, narrowly missing a half-century. Kohli then took charge, forming a crucial partnership with Shreyas Iyer. During this partnership, Kohli completed his 74th ODI half-century off 62 balls, reaching the milestone with a boundary off Naseem Shah in the 27th over.
India’s third wicket fell at 214. Khushdil Shah had Shreyas Iyer caught by Imam, with Iyer scoring 56 runs off 67 balls, including five fours and a six. The Iyer-Kohli partnership yielded 114 runs.
India’s fourth wicket fell at 223. Shaheen Afridi had Hardik Pandya caught by wicketkeeper Rizwan, Pandya scoring only eight runs. Finally, Virat Kohli steered India to victory, completing his 51st ODI century with an unbeaten 100 off 111 balls, including seven fours. For Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi took two wickets, while Abrar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah each claimed one.
Earlier, spinner Kuldeep Yadav played a crucial role in restricting Pakistan to 241 runs in 49.4 overs with a superb bowling performance. Saud Shakeel top-scored for Pakistan with a fine half-century, scoring 62 runs off 76 balls. Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets for 40 runs in nine overs for India.
